1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is urine collecting bags portable on the body of a person. More specifically, the invention concerns a disposable urine collection bag and its associated support harness system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People may sometimes be afflicted with urological diseases, maladies, and ailments impairing their ability to voluntarily control the evacuation or release of urine. This may also happen post-operatively because of anesthetic agents and drugs. Because of these problems a catheter may be inserted into the bladder for the collection of urine. Patients or persons suffering from incontinence may also be catheterized for the collection of urine. Patients who have been catheterized frequently wear, beneath their clothing or gown, urine collecting or drainage apparatus which allows collection and storage of the discharged urine.
Prior art urine collecting apparatus is generally marked by complexity, with separate components cooperating for the urine collecting and support harness functions. Early urine collecting apparatus employed a disposable plastic bag customarily clamped or held to the leg of a wearer by elastic latex bands tightly encircling the wearer's leg. These bands constricted the leg, tended to reduce blood circulation in the leg, and were uncomfortable to the wearer. The bands were prone to cause irritation of the skin by causing blisters and pulling body hair. Consequently, various harness systems for supporting a urine collection bag from the waist came to be developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,785 to Homer D. Barto, Jr. shows a harness support system for a disposible urine bag. The system has a separate, disposable, urine collection bag attached to a support sheet. The sheet is designed to hang from an adjustable belt positioned upon the wearer's waist when in use. The urine collection bag is supported upon the support sheet in the area of the patient's leg and communicates with the patient for receipt of urine through a catheter. Barto also shows leg bands designed to fit around the patient's leg in order to hold the support sheet, with the urine bag affixed thereto, to the leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,851 to Grossmer shows another belt-type carrier apparatus for urine bags. Within such apparatus downwardly hanging pouches support the urine bags. Grossmer additionally shows the use of a Velcro.RTM. fastener for attaching a belt about the wearer's waist, and for attaching the pouches to the belt.
Resultantly from these separate urine bags and belt-type carrier apparatus in prior urine collection systems, it became necessary to make specialized accommodation to the positioning and holding of the catheter tube. Yet another patent addresses this concern. U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,863 teaches a locking device for holding a catheter tube in place, and for reducing irritation by eliminating the "floating effect" of the catheter tube. This locking device is used in the Dale.RTM. Combo.RTM. Catheter Tube Holder No. 0584-402 (announced in product sheet 925 dated July 1, 1978) of Bako Manufacturing Company, Inc., Plainville, Mass. 02762. The catheter (tube) and drainage bag with which the tube holder is used are not only not integral with the catheter tube holder, but are not even included in the packaged product as supplied.
The prior art systems for urine drainage and collection from a mobile patient generally show that the urine collection bag and the harness, or carrier, should be of separate, interactive, parts. Indeed, the patent of Barto is called a "HARNESS FOR A DISPOSABLE URINAL", and the patent of Grossmer is called a "CARRIER AND SKIN-PROTECTING COVER FOR URINE BAGS". This approach using separate system components is less than optimal for several reasons. Both urine bag and harness components must be carried within the inventory of the health care provider, and must be located and interoperatively assembled in order to initiate the service function upon the patient. If one part, the urine collection bag, is disposable while the remaining part, the harness, is not, then the harness, especially if it is cloth, is subject to becoming stained and contaminated during repeated usage. If such harness, often made of cloth or canvas, is attempted to be laundered and sanitized then it represents a small specialty item in laundering for which the labor costs of cleaning are likely to exceed the intrinsic worth.
The prior art urine collection systems comprised of separate constituent component bag and harness parts present scant obstacles to patient tampering and unauthorized disassembly of the system, such as by removing the urine bag from the support harness.
Finally, there are aesthetic concerns of which the patient is often accutely conscious. Although no urine collection system is likely to enhance the comfort or appearance of the human body, urine collection systems comprised of diverse parts have occasionally assumed an appearance which is arguably grotesque and outlandish. This especially includes systems which employ diverse metal brackets, holders, clamps, and the like--all toward the goal of positioning and retaining a considerable amount of paraphernalia on an ambulatory patient.
The present invention is directed to a simple, unified, integrated, low cost, aesthetically reasonable, effective, disposable and neat system of urine collection. It offers simplified aspects of construction and use. It offers improved sanitation. It also offers certain particular aspects of improved effective attachment to the patient's waist and improved effective support of the catherization tube which is in flow connection with the urine collection bag.